fashionologie

Bestselling Author Tyra Banks Has Considered Producing Food and Doing Spas

fashionologie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:10:19 PDT

>> Tyra Banks says she "got a little alopecia from the stress" of writing her debut young-adult book, Modelland, but it's panned out for her - the novel is now topping bestseller lists.

Banks, who early next year will complete the owner/president/manager program at Harvard Business School, tells the Wall Street Journal the classes have helped with the direction of her business: "Professors explained to me that focus is great. Being the biggest and having your foot in a bunch of things is not necessarily the best thing. So I came back and focused the message of my company ... I said, "If it's not about expanding the definition of beauty and making women feel physically and emotionally better about themselves, then we're not doing it." We put away ideas to produce food. I've been approached to do real estate with homes geared toward first-time women buyers, spas, all kind of stuff, and we put those ideas away, too."

She also seemed to be fully comfortable with her career growth: "I've found that I enjoy being at a business meeting more than I enjoy being on a photo shoot. And I can lead a meeting better."

Andre Leon Talley Leaving America's Next Top Model; Kelly Cutrone to Replace Him

fashionologie — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:22:04 PDT

>> After spending four cycles as an America's Next Top Model judge beginning in early 2010, Andre Leon Talley is exiting the show. Kelly Cutrone will replace him for cycle 18, starting early next year. “It’s all good in the neighborhood,” Talley said of his departure. “I had a fabulous time. It was a mutual agreement. There is no unhappiness, at all." Cutrone, for her part, says of her upcoming role: "I am a huge fan of America's Next Top Model and have watched the show for years. Having worked in various aspects of the fashion industry over the course of my career, I am excited for this new opportunity and hope to bring a different perspective to the show." [People, NY Post]

Tyra Banks On Why She's Attending Harvard Business School

fashionologie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:08:40 PDT

>> Last month, it was reported that Tyra Banks has been attending Harvard Business School. But she's apparently been enrolled since last year, in the Owner/President Management Program for entrepreneurs, which requires its students to participate in intensive three-week sessions costing $31,000 a year for three years. So why has Banks undertaken the course study, despite her multimillion-dollar empire? "In order for my company to grow and be the best, and to reach these women, and to serve them, I needed the best. So I went to the best," she explains . "It's pretty exclusive. It's quite expensive. But, I feel like it is worth it. I feel like it is so, so worth it."

As for those surprised at her Harvard enrollment, she says: "[When it] got out that I was in school at Harvard . . . it's like, well, oh my God, why is a model going to Harvard? But that's actually a good thing, because when people have low expectations, you're just constantly going, 'Ta-da!' And they're like, 'Wow.' It doesn't take a lot to wow them when they have low expectations."

And tomorrow, she launches her new online magazine, TypeF.com - "her biggest publishing venture to date" promising "thousands of articles containing wardrobe, hair, and makeup tips for women of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities," The Cut reports.

America's Next Top Model To Get High Fashion Judges Along with Its Vogue Italia Sponsorship

fashionologie — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:24:53 PDT

>> The winner of the upcoming cycle 15 of America's Next Top Model - which premieres Sept. 8 on the CW - is receiving a Vogue Italia cover plus two in-book editorials instead of a Seventeen cover, the prize of season's past.

Reflecting the show's reinvention, the list of guest judges for the upcoming season - who will join judging panel regular Andre Leon Talley - is decidedly more high fashion when compared to last season's list, which included names like Whitney Port. Designers Roberto Cavalli, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Zac Posen; photographers Matthew Rolston, Patrick Demarchelier, and Francesco Carrozzini (Franca Sozzani's son); Karolina Kurkova, Margherita Missoni, and Kyle Hagler of IMG Models, plus Franca Sozzani herself, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, will all appear as guest judges for cycle 15.

Video: A trailer of the judges in the upcoming season »

Tyra Banks's New Polaroids for IMG Have Surfaced

fashionologie — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:33:34 PDT

>> Now that Tyra Banks is back with IMG Models and has expressed interest in lending her name and image to brands as a spokeswoman, the requisite polaroids have been taken for distribution, complete with a couple of Top Model-worthy poses, all despite the recent caveat Tyra posted on her official website: "To set the record straight, I’m not coming out of modeling retirement… IMG is such a huge company, there are many things I will be doing with them. Some fashion-related, but don’t expect to see me at any go-sees!"

View Slideshow ›

Tyra Banks Will Not Return to Runway as Part of IMG Partnership, But Is Working with Franca Sozzani

fashionologie — Wed, 26 May 2010 11:11:31 PDT

>> Last week, when Tyra Banks announced she was returning to IMG Models, questions rose about whether she would be returning to runways (she retired in 2005) - but it sounds like she's more interested in becoming a spokeswoman, lending her name and image to other brands, than anything else.

In a statement released, she noted: "The last time I was with IMG, I was set on taking on the modeling world in the high fashion and commercial sectors. Now I’m dreaming even bigger, but this time for my company as well. Aligning myself with brands that I believe in, and helping them achieve the kind of success they’re looking for, helps all of us as we grow our businesses."

And Ivan Bart, SVP of IMG Models, added: "IMG will help expand her relationships with companies through endorsements, and will assist her in developing business relationships with sponsors whose missions she feels strongly about."

More details about the America's Next Top Model-Vogue Italia partnership »

fashionologie — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:52:01 PDT

>> Vogue Italia Partners with America's Next Top Model? -In the past, winners of America's Next Top Model have received a six-page spread in Seventeen, but in the last couple of seasons, the show has been upping its fashion quotient. First came Andre Leon Talley's arrival as judge, and now the announcement that for the upcoming fifteenth cycle, the winner will score the cover of Vogue Italia - which undoubtedly means a chance in front of Steven Meisel's lens. [NY Post, @MichaelAusiello]

Tyra Banks Announces First Novel, Modelland

fashionologie — Tue, 11 May 2010 09:24:44 PDT

>> In what is part of a three-book young adult fantasy series deal with Random House, Tyra Banks announced her first novel, Modelland, today.

"The story happens in a make-believe place called Modelland," Banks writes. "Every girl in the world wants to go there because it’s where 'Intoxibellas' are trained. Intoxibellas are drop-dead beautiful, kick-butt fierce and, yeah, maybe they have some powers too. (But I’m confirming NOTHING! Ha. You gotta wait for the book.) The story follows a teen girl and her friends who find themselves magically transported to Modelland, even though they’re really not supposed to be there."

She wants to make the books into movies »

Andre Leon Talley Has 13 Custom-Made Capes and a Catchphrase for His First Judging Season on America's Next Top Model

fashionologie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:48:07 PST

>> Tyra Banks first approached Andre Leon Talley to be on America's Next Top Model eight years ago. “At that point," he told WWD, "I said no because it was the beginning. I was thinking I wanted to see where it goes.” Fast forward to 2010 and cycle 14 of the show, which premieres March 10 on The CW, with Talley on the judging panel:

I felt maybe I could contribute something to it that had not been on the show. I just felt that it was a way to step out of the box and associate myself with a very important American success story, a very important brand - Tyra Banks.

How does Anna Wintour feel about all this? »

fashionologie — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:15:17 PST

>> Andre Leon Talley's New TV Role Not Wintour-Approved? -Earlier this month, it was confirmed that Andre Leon Talley would be filling a full-time judge role for the fourteenth cycle of America's Next Top Model. However, word is that Anna Wintour is less than pleased with his new direction: she apparently hasn't approved the new post, even with "numerous pleas" from show creator Tyra Banks. [LA Times, @jcreportglobal]